Every time you eat a steak, even when it’s locally sourced, you are very likely contributing to the destruction of rainforests and savannahs in South America. Forests are burned to the ground to make way for soy used in animal feed. These genetically modified mono cultures are heavily doused in toxic pesticides -- threatening the livelihoods of indigenous peoples and the health of their children.
What’s more: Soy is also linked to illegal and violent land grabs and human rights abuses.
Millions of hectares of forests are destroyed every year so that agribusiness giants like Cargill can trade GM soy on the European market. Virtually all the meat sold in Europe comes from cattle and other livestock fed with soy.
The European Union, the world’s second largest importer of soy, could put a stop to the deforestation, land grabs and human rights abuses by enacting regulation -- but so far they’ve failed to act.
Unless we push them, the EU Commission will keep stalling until it’s too late and every single forest is burned to the ground. And we need to act now: next year, a new Commission will take over and the current administration will not be taking on new legislation for much longer.
Tell the European Commission to take action now to save the rainforests and protect the people living in them!
Commercial agriculture is responsible for a staggering 80 percent of deforestation worldwide, causing both humans and animals to lose their homes, and throwing entire ecosystems off balance. And it’s not just for soy: cocoa, palm oil, beef, rubber and other commodities are also causing mass deforestation, land theft and human rights violations.
Yet there is a solution that would address all of this: the EU needs to put in place binding regulations to ensure that harmful agricultural goods cannot be sold in the EU, if they are responsible for the destruction of forests and violating human rights. Then big corporations like Cargill and Bunge would have to change their game.
In the past year, thousands of SumOfUs members have come together to fight deforestation, and succeeded. We pressed food multinationals like PepsiCo and Starbucks to adopt deforestation-free supply chains. Now it's time to use people power once again.
Tell the EU Commission: There's no time to waste. Put an action plan in place to stop deforestation and the associated rights abuse worldwide.
More information
Mighty Earth, in collaboration with Rainforest Foundation Norway and Fern. 1 March 2018.
Fern.org. 26 March 2018.